Icelandic nominations for the Nordic Council Literature Prizes 2016

Guðbergur Bergsson and Elísabet Kristín Jökulsdóttir nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize and two debutants, Ragnhildur Hólmgeirsdóttir and Arnar Már Arngrímsson, nominated for the Nordic Children and Young People's Literature Prize 2016.

8. April, 2016

Guðbergur Bergsson and Elísabet Kristín Jökulsdóttir nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize and two debutants, Ragnhildur Hólmgeirsdóttir and Arnar Már Arngrímsson, nominated for the Nordic Children and Young People's Literature Prize 2016.

Nordic Children and Young People's Literature Prize 2016

The national members of the Adjudication Committee for the Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize have nominated the following 13 works for the prize in 2016.

The Icelandic works nominated are Koparborgin (e. The City of Bronze) by Ragnhildur Hólmgeirsdóttir and Sölvasaga unglings (e. The Saga of Sölvi the Youth) by Arnar Már Arngrímsson.

The Adjudication Committee presented the 13 nominated works for the Children and Young People's Literature Prize at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. The prize, which the Nordic Council in partnership with the Nordic ministers of culture, decided to establish two years ago, is the fifth in the series of prestigious Nordic Council prizes. 

What the committee says about the Icelandic books nominated:

Koparborgin (e. The City of Bronze) by Ragnhildur Hólmgeirsdóttir

"Koparborgin is tremendously well-written – it is a dense, eventful, and very exciting book. The protagonist has distinctive traits, while the story's other children possess an uncanny ability to survive, an ability that has come at a cost. They are, nevertheless, firmly bound to one another." You can read more about the book here.

Sölvasaga unglings (e. The Saga of Sölvi the Youth) by Arnar Már Arngrímsson

"Sölvasaga unglings [...] offers a truly beautiful insight into the storms that rage in the emotions of young people who need guidance and cannot stick things out; who are overwhelmed by sexual impulses that no one wants to know about; who fear being rejected and demand recognition, yet can't find the right way to do anything at all. It is a happily and humorously written work. It shows us that Sølvi has immense creative abilities, as well as how difficult adolescence can be and that fatal extremes may be closer than one thinks." You can read more about the book here.

Here you can find more information on other works nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize 2016.

The winner will be announced and will receive a prize of DKK 350,000 on 1 November 2016 at the DR Concert Hall in Copenhagen at an event in conjunction with the Session of the Nordic Council.

Nordic Council Literature Prize 2016

The Icelandic works nominated are Ástin ein taugahrúga. Enginn dans við Ufsaklett (e. Love - a nervous wreck. No dancing at the fishing rock) by Elísabet Kristín Jökulsdóttir and Þrír sneru aftur (e. Three Turned Back) by Guðbergur Bergsson.

What the committee says about the Icelandic books nominated:

Enginn dans við Ufsaklett (e. Love - a nervous wreck. No dancing at the fishing rock) by Elísabet Kristín Jökulsdóttir.

“Why doesn't she leave him?” we might ask when we hear about a woman in an abusive relationship. Of another woman we might say, “Why did she get involved with him? He's known for being violent.” But the answers to these questions are not straightforward. Elisabet Kristín Jökulsdóttir tries to answer them herself in her poetry collection Ástin ein taugahrúga. Enginn dans við Ufsaklettforsøger (in English “Love - a nervous wreck. No dancing at the fishing rock”), which in a sincere and candid manner tells the story of violence and love in a relationship." You can read more about the book here.

Þrír sneru aftur (e. Three Turned Back) by Guðbergur Bergsson.

"A remote countryside farm not far from a fishing village on the south coast of Iceland provides the basic narrative setting of Þrír sneru aftur, (in English “Three men return”). This isolated and secluded spot serves as a backdrop to the well-known literary motif that Bergsson discusses in his aforementioned postscript.The farm is a kind of national symbol.When it receives unexpected visitors, the transformations of the time come barging in." You can read more about the book here.